I have travelled with L.K. Advani on his campaign trail in the 1989 general elections before the soundbyte age and found him always ready to engage in discussion and debate as against the pre-formulated responses of many leaders.

It’s the city of IT and pub protests; of education as well as innovation. Five young Indians from Bangalore debate whether the youth of the world’s youngest nation are patriotic and involved in decision-making, or are decadent and resistant to change.

L.K. Advani’s promise to bring back $500 bn stashed in Swiss Banks strikes a chord on the campaign trail. But it also triggers scepticism, given the poor track record of the political class to deliver.

In March 2008, I was in Pakistan to attend a wedding and used the occasion to ask for a meeting with Nawaz Sharif, then flush with the sterling performance of his Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) in the February parliamentary elections.